“The traumatized person is often relieved simply to learn the true name of her condition. By ascertaining her diagnosis, she begins the process of mastery. No longer imprisoned in the wordlessness of the trauma, she discovers that there is a language for her experience. She discovers that she is not alone; others have suffered in similar ways. She discovers further that she is not crazy; the traumatic syndromes are normal human responses to extreme circumstances. And she discovers, finally, that she is not doomed to suffer this condition indefinitely; she can expect to recover, as others have recovered...” ― Judith Lewis Herman

Trauma Sensitive Yoga Australia is committed to expanding the awareness of trauma sensitive practices within the traditional yoga class format, as well as supporting mental health clinicians to integrate trauma informed yoga practices into their work. Our workshops are designed to enhance the skills of yoga teachers and mental health clinicians and other allied health professionals, when working with clients in trauma recovery. We are now in our fifth year of offering these workshops to the Australian therapeutic community.

The training provided by Trauma Sensitive Yoga Australia is a distillation of all the current research in the area of trauma recovery, utilising yoga and other body based interventions, all aimed to inform and to enhance the practitioner’s clinical response when supporting clients in trauma recovery. These workshops are inspired by the latest research of Bessel van der Kolk (Trauma Centre Trauma Sensitive Yoga -TCTSY), David Emerson (TCTSY), Judith Herman (Trauma and Recovery), Pat Ogden (Sensorimotor Psychotherapy) , Peter Levine (Somatic Re-experiencing), Richard Miller(i-Rest Yoga Nidra) and Steven Porges (Polyvagal Theory).

As we are independent to any of these authors and their respective training organisations , it allows us to present in our programs what we believe is clinically most relevant without having to operate within any one particular model. Our workshops are not a replacement for any of the professional development programs that may be facilitated by any of these clinicians. Our workshops are an integration of all that we consider is the latest evidence on the most effective way to work with clients in trauma recovery. These workshops have arisen out of what we have found really works with our clients. Our workshops are highly experiential, as we figure you can always read the book. This program has been designed to build a solid trauma informed foundation which may allow for further exploration of trauma informed principles and practices, depending on the interests of each participant.